BATON ROUGE — The East scored a second quarter offensive touchdown and picked off a pass for another score in the third quarter to win the 69th Louisiana High School Coaches Association/Coca-Cola All-Star Football Game Friday night at LSU’s Tiger Stadium.
The game concluded the all-star week of activities and it will mark the final time the games are played in this present format. The football all-star game, which concluded with the East winning the final two games and taking the series 40-27-2, will be merged into the Bayou Bowl that began a few years ago matching Louisiana all-stars against a Texas-based team. The volleyball and basketball games will move to the end of their respective seasons.
Tommy Toomey scored the game’s only offensive touchdown at the 10:19 mark of the second quarter when the quarterback from West Ouachita scampered 32 yards with a quarterback keeper. Jeremy Robert kicked the extra point and the East led 7-0. Toomey was voted the game’s Most Outstanding Offensive Player.
In the third quarter, West quarterback Al Lewis telegraphed a swing pass and it was picked off by the East’s Timothy Richardson, who waltzed in the remaining 10 yards for the second and final score of the game. Robert again added the extra point.
The East’s Antonio Baker of Amite was voted the game’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player after blocking a 43-yard West field goal attempt that set up Toomey’s touchdown run on the very next play. Baker also had an interception in the contest.
Neither team could get much offensive spark going after a short week of practice with the East gaining 117 total yards and the West 89 total yards.